Wednesday, October 26, 2011

I'm from Idaho

I went to a music store today and asked for a piano book of scales, chords, and arpeggios so I could feel more comfortable teaching piano lessons. Before the clerk left to find my request, he asked me where my accent is from.

I told him, "I'm from Idaho, and I didn't know I had an accent."
"You do. Compared to us New York and Philadelphia musicians, you do have an accent. It's actually pleasant so I wanted to know where you were from."
After I told him why we were here, he gave me a hearty, "Welcome to Pennsylvania."

Now that I think about it, I was asked where my accent was from when I first moved to Illinois and talked to a native Chicagoan. However, that person had to ask me where Idaho was, and made me feel like a foreigner.

In France, (when I participated in a study abroad program) my "accent" passed me off as British. Needless to say, I was treated much more cordially than my American counterparts.

So... I have an accent. An Idahoan accent! Way to go Idaho.

3 comments:

Becca Anderson

Po-Po-Po-Poooootato!

That was a cheer we made up for Idahoans back in high school. Proud to be Idahoan!

Becca

So fun. Idahoans are great. I didn't know you taught piano...how fun.

The Whipples

Someone here thought I had an accent too. They thought I was foreign. Is Arizona considered foreign? Maybe westerners have their own accent.